


A confession and a reunion

by spacark



Category: Inazuma Eleven
Genre: Dub names, HiroMido - Freeform, Love Confessions, M/M, tatsumido
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:09:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21637147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacark/pseuds/spacark
Summary: Hello! I was writing a hiromido/tatsumido one shot but realized there was potential for a follow up chapter, so that's that, haha!(1) Jordan is forced to leave the team after the match with Korea. Xavier realizes he really badly wants to spend more time with his dearest friend before he’ll be leaving for Liocott.(2) Xavier returns from Liocott. Isabelle is intent on helping her two favorite guys have a touching reunion.
Relationships: Kiyama Tatsuya | Kiyama Hiroto | Gran/Midorikawa Ryuuji | Reize
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23





	1. A poorly timed confession

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for opening this! I want to say that I use dub names for writing as I'm more comfortable with writing that. I apologize if it makes it a little harder to read if you're used to their Japanese names! 
> 
> As for a note on the fic itself: in the game Jordan wasn’t even there on the airport so that’s where his hesitation comes from. I know it’s different in the anime but the game canon always piques my interest a little more, haha!

Xavier gently scraped his pleats on the ground besides the bench. He was sitting on it, watching a few of his team mates in the distance – and with a now former teammate, Jordan, by his side. After injuring himself in the Korea match, Jordan Greenway had been taken off the Inazuma National team. He had been reluctantly staying in the dorms for the while between the Asian finals and the team’s departure to the Football Islands. Xavier folded his hands and looked sharply at Jordan, repeating a question he’s already asked several times: “So, will you come see us off?”  
“I told you,” Jordan sighed in response, repeating himself one more time as well. “I don’t want to come.”  
“Please? For me?” Xavier bugged. “Going to Liocott with everyone… if it’s not with you, I think it’ll be lonely.”  
“You’ll be fine with everyone, Xavier. You’ve got Mark… and err, all those other guys. Plus, you’ve made it to Liocott! There wouldn’t be a reason to worry about loneliness when you just focus on winning that championship!”  
Xavier tried not to pout. Jordan really didn’t understand at all, did he?  
Jordan looked away. “Look, I really don’t want to. I’d be beating myself up over there watching that plane that I worked so hard to be on. And here I am with my legs giving up on me, unable to play properly, taken off the team. I can’t _stand_ it, Xavier, being forced to raise a white flag. I’m not going.”  
Xavier was quiet for a moment, mulling over his friend’s emotions. “I’m sorry to hear that.”  
“Not your fault. I was stupid enough to train too hard, I guess.”  
“You’re not stupid at all.”  
“… I just… really wanted to prove myself…” Jordan clenched his fist and hit his leg with it. “Stupid...”  
Xavier grabbed Jordan’s arm. “Stop that. Don’t hurt yourself any more. Look, let’s go have some fun together tonight, so I can at least be sure you won’t actually beat yourself up while I’m off.”  
Jordan didn’t look Xavier back in the eyes.  
“Will you let me take you out for dinner?”  
No response.  
“Well, then I’ll just _have_ to take you out. Come on.” And he dragged Jordan with him past the pitch, back to the dorms.  
  
“Coach, we can spend this evening somewhere outside the dorm to say our goodbyes, don’t we?”  
Surprisingly, coach Percival Travis had given his approval.   
  
Feeling like he had no choice, Jordan followed Xavier, although at a very slow pace. Xavier would often get a little ahead, then stop and turn around to see if his green-haired friend was still following. Eventually he slowed down his own pace to match Jordan’s. The pace only seemed to get slower and slower the further on they walked.  
“Stop,” Jordan suddenly begged. Xavier abruptly stopped walking. “What’s wrong?”  
“My leg is what’s wrong,” Jordan grimaced, admitting his current weakness. He hated to; but Xavier would figure it out anyway even if he didn’t say so. “It _hurts_ an awful lot, you know?”  
Xavier immediately was a little cross with himself; he had been so distracted by Jordan’s adorable face that he completely forgot about his injuries. “Sorry… I’m really sorry. Should I kiss it to ease the pain?”  
“What?” Jordan asked in visible confusion. “I’m not a child. … And you’re not my mother.”  
“Maybe a friend’s kiss will help the same?”  
Jordan thought about it for a second. “There’s no proverb like that.”  
Xavier tried hard not to smile. Honestly, it was clear that Jordan was kind of flustered and confused and that’s how he’d revert to thinking in his favorite proverbs. This teasing was fun. He was most certainly going to miss that. While Jordan was clearly still in pain, the banter seemed to relieve a little of his tension. Xavier decided to continue, having too much fun with it. “Then I’ll just carry you instead. We’re pretty close to the restaurant.”  
“Oh no, you won’t.” Jordan said, angrily. “I _can_ walk, it just… hey!” He groaned as Xavier slid under his arm and held him up. Xavier smiled. “Just hop along then.”  
For the first many steps, Jordan refused. Then he awkwardly started hopping while leaning on Xavier. “I hope that the place really is as close as you say, because this is _incredibly_ embarrassing.”  
  
Thankfully for Jordan - and disappointingly for Xavier - the restaurant was close by. Actually, it didn’t appear much like a restaurant. Jordan gazed up at the signpost. Rai Rai Noodles. Xavier brought him to a local noodle bar? That’s a bit below his sometimes-existent standards for dinner, like his favorite food being beef stroganoff. It’s only that Jordan had one time seen him eat that that he knew something like that even existed out there.  
“Mark and some of the others recommended this place.” Xavier laughed at the confused Jordan. “They said it would always help them through tough times.”  
Jordan shot him a glare. Why would Xavier bother so much to cheer him up when he should be thinking about the Football Frontier International instead?  
They both entered the place, only to be greeted by an older man they both recognize. “Oh! Mr. Hillman.” Jordan gasped. “This is your place?”  
  
To both their surprise and to Xavier’s slight dismay, as _he_ wanted to be the one to treat Jordan, Coach Hillman offered them both a basic ramen bowl for free. While eating, Xavier, Jordan and Hillman talked about the most recent match the Inazuma National team played in: the finale against the Korean team, the Fire Dragons. Jordan’s mood worsened the more they went into details of the match. Xavier and Hillman noticed, so they made attempts to cheer the young boy up.  
“Your efforts helped the team win the match.”  
“That’s what I’ve been saying too, Mr. Hillman! See, Jordan!”  
Jordan sighed. “Anyone else could’ve done that too.”  
“Oooh…” Xavier cooed, dizzied. “Jordan, really. It was you. You did it. You were vital to the team.”  
Jordan poked his food for a few moments and then finished his meal. Xavier and coach Hillman watched, both smiling slightly watching Jordan. Jordan tried hard not to show it, but the both of them could see that he really appreciated the words of praise.  
“T… Thanks for the food, Mr. Hillman.” Jordan said as he got up and bowed. Xavier panicked slightly as he still had half his bowl left, so he raised it and tried to finish it as fast as he could before Jordan could make any other attempt to leave the bar. “Mmmm… Wait up, Jordan!” Xavier pleaded in-between sips of the ramen broth. Jordan did wait, much to Xavier’s relief. This allowed Xavier to more gracefully finish his bowl and slip some payment for the food to the owner. He got up, gave his thanks too and walked towards Jordan, who was waiting just outside of the entrance. “Do you want to go back to the dorms?”  
“I’m not sure.”  
“Well, then let’s just go for a walk! Ah, wait…” Xavier stopped being enthusiastic about it when he remembered that walking must be frustrating for Jordan. Jordan twirled a few strands of his hair around his fingers. “I’ll be fine.”  
“Let me know when it hurts. You can lean on me anytime.”  
Jordan didn’t say anything in response and started walking. Xavier followed, making sure to walk beside his friend. He decided to take the cue to remain silent for a little and let Jordan mull over his thoughts, but _god_ did he just want to hear all of those thoughts out loud so he could help him get over any negative ones. With every passing minute, Xavier more desperately wanted to hear what was really on Jordan’s mind and wished for him to just tell him outright without him having to pry over and again. After everything that happened the past few months, did Jordan ever really trust him fully? The thought of it was eating away at Xavier. Eventually Xavier gave in. “What’s on your mind right now, Jordan?”  
Jordan blinked. “Going home tomorrow.”  
Hm. It was something Xavier could respond to. “I’m sure everyone’s going to be welcoming. Dave might still be a little mad,” he laughed, “But anyone else would be proud of you! Especially Isabelle.”  
Jordan gazed up to the sky. “Oh yeah, bet Dave’s still angry.”  
“Look after everyone for me, okay?”  
“No way,” Jordan laughed. “There’s too many troublemakers between us all to keep an eye on.”  
“I can’t disagree with you there,” Xavier smiled. “It’s always been a huge effort.”  
“You’ve always been pretty capable for that.”  
“Maybe not capable enough.”  
“Huh? How come?”  
“I guess I sometimes really don’t know what’s going on in other people’s minds. No matter how much I’d like to believe I do.”  
“What are you getting at?”  
“I just really wonder what else is on your mind, Jordan. Besides the Football Frontier, Alius, Sun Garden.”  
Jordan thought about it for a moment. “Little, I guess. All I’ve recently thought about is being the best player I could be to keep my spot in the team.”  
“How do you feel about our friendship?”  
“What kind of question is that?”  
Xavier pouted. Finally he was steering the conversation in a direction he really wanted to know the answer to, but Jordan just bounced a question back. “It’s something I’ve been wondering about. In the team we’ve been pretty close, of course, as we go way back… during the Alius times, we rarely spoke and you’ve recently made it clear enough you’ve resented me for my position… I just wonder if I’m a good enough friend to you, these days?”  
“… Yeah.”  
That’s all? Jordan, really, is that all? Xavier tried to not look upset.  
“Ow!” Jordan shrieked in response, as he nearly twisted his ankle. He dropped himself on the pavement and felt his leg. “Stupid…”  
“Can you stand?” Xavier asked, worried.  
“Yeah, yeah. Just give me a minute.” Jordan groaned as he massaged his leg. Xavier came down on his knees to take a look. “That still looks nasty. Jordan, it’s late and dark. Nobody’s going to see it if I give you a piggy-back ride.”  
“Piss off, Xavier.”  
“There are other ways I could carry you if you keep refusing~” Xavier teased as he got back up, holding his arms forward, standing in a pose that clearly hinted ‘bridal carrying’. Jordan crawled back, trying to not show his pained face. “No, thanks. I’ll walk.”  
“Awh,” Xavier pouted. “Fine, fine.”  
Jordan pushed himself back up and squinted as he stepped right past Xavier. “If I don’t take those baby steps now, I’ll never properly walk again.”  
“If you say so. I think breaks to recover are fair enough to take.”  
“I don’t.” Jordan stepped on, Xavier following him. They walked for another few minutes. Jordan appeared to get more nervous the more he walked. Suddenly he stopped. “Err,” he mumbled, embarrassed.   
“What’s wrong?”  
“Are we even going in the right direction? I have no idea where we are.”  
“To be honest,” Xavier laughed. “I barely have a grip on this area either. I have no idea.”  
“But you managed to walk us to the noodle bar. Do we return there and then just... find our way back?”  
Xavier turned around, staring in the distance. “I suppose we did come from there. But there were many crossroads on the way. I don’t remember all of them.”  
“You… you could’ve stopped me earlier to say I was completely off.”  
“I was kind of distracted.”  
“So we’re lost in Inazuma Town. What a joke…” Jordan bent over to feel his leg again and hissed slightly whenever he touched it. Xavier looked at him angrily. “That’s it. I’m carrying you back to the dorms.”  
“No.” “You have no grounds to refuse anymore, Jordan. Look at yourself.” “No.” “Stop refusing, _Jordan Greenway._ ”  
“Fine!” Jordan screeched. “Whatever you want, Your Highness.”  
Ah, so Jordan still did resent Xavier in some ways. Xavier felt guilty about that and then got upset with himself for being so harsh on Jordan. But it was because he really cared! He really wanted the best for his friend. He stood in front of Jordan and looked him straight in the eye. “I… I’m sorry… for being so forceful. But I want you to have a safe recovery and you’re not getting it this way.” Jordan grumpily broke the eye contact. Xavier sighed and relieved his tensed muscles, then turned around and got down on his knees again. “Hop on.”  
Jordan stared at Xavier’s back for a few seconds, awkwardly reached his arms to his friend’s shoulders and allowed Xavier to get back up. He fumbled a little, but within seconds he got back upright with Jordan on his back. Jordan immediately let his thoughts known. “I hate this.”  
“It’s for the best. So, now to find our way back…” Xavier looked around. “I guess a landmark would help.”  
Jordan looked along. “Oh!” he exclaimed quickly. “I can see the tower from here.”  
“That’s quite helpful. What kind of position is it in?”  
“… Far different from the dormitory’s view of it.”  
“We really did end up far off, huh.”  
“Yeah,” Jordan laughed awkwardly. “My bad. I think we should just follow this road uh… this way.” Jordan leaned slightly to the side, shifting his weight to the direction he intended to point at.  
“Roger,” Xavier nodded and turned to that direction, allowing Jordan to shift his weight back to a more central point before walking on. He walked for a little in quiet again.  
Jordan eventually poked him a little. “Isn’t this exhausting? You can put me back on the ground anytime, you know.”  
“Don’t worry, I’ve gained so much muscles those past few months, this is a breeze.”  
“Huh. Aren’t you lucky.”  
“Jordan,” Xavier mumbled, but raised his voice again swiftly to a more normal tone. “After you upgraded your shot, I wanted to only believe that you finally broke free from Alius, but it’s really on your mind a lot, isn’t it?”  
“To be honest, I thought you were right when you said that. I was very relieved, but…”  
“But?”  
“Claude and Bryce…”  
“Ah…”  
Of course, Claude and Bryce, still following their Alius codenames Torch and Gazelle, have been part of their final opponents in the preliminaries. While they didn’t have much to say to Xavier, they were actively trying to drag down Jordan’s morale, calling him out on his lower position back in the Alius teams.  
“You know you’re not the ‘second-rate’ Alius player anymore, Jordan. Besides… you’re the most first-rate best friend I could’ve wished for.”  
“Best friend?” Jordan said in surprise. He’d never even consider that Xavier would call him something beyond a friend, so to hear him be called his _best_ friend was a little too kind.  
“But not just that! I’d like to believe you’d make a top-class lover too someday!”  
This made Jordan slightly jump, nearly falling off Xavier’s back. “What are you saying?” Xavier desperately tried to keep his grip on Jordan. Jordan continued his outcry while getting his face besides Xavier’s again. “To whom would I be like that?!”  
“T… To… me?”  
They locked eyes, both their faces red.  
Jordan gasped for breath. “What was that?”  
“… My confession?” Xavier whispered, flushed. Jordan flung his arms again, this time actually losing his grip and he stumbled backwards, hands on the street, Xavier still holding his legs tightly. “Put me down!” Jordan cried but Xavier lost his own balance with the change of weight. He fell on top of Jordan with his back. “Oof! No, I mean, sorry! Are you okay?”  
Xavier crawled up and reached his arms out to Jordan. “Are you---”  
Jordan hid his face in his hands. “What the heck!”  
“I’m sorry,” Xavier apologized. “I shouldn’t have said that.”  
“What the heck,” Jordan repeated, sobbing. Xavier panicked. “Did I fall on your leg? I’m so sorry, let me take a look…“ he grabbed Jordan’s leg and inspected it. Jordan kept bawling. The leg didn’t look particularly different on the outside, but it must’ve been a painful blow, right? To make Jordan cry like that? He was a strong lad, he wouldn’t just randomly cry the way he now did. Xavier carefully stroked it. “There, there…”  
Jordan sniffled, inhaled deeply through his nose and glared at Xavier. “You’re awful.”  
“I am?!” Xavier asked, panicked. “I’ll apologize as many times as it takes! I’m really sorry for falling.”  
“That’s not even it! Terrible! Did whatever you say go in one ear and out the other?!”  
  
Oh no. A proverb. Now Xavier’s really done it.  
  
“Did you really think it a good idea to… confess… right the night before you leave to go abroad?! And to me too! I’m not even-”  
“You’re _quite_ worthy to be loved, Jordan!” Xavier interrupted sternly, surprising even himself.  
Jordan inhaled deeply again, tears welling up. “Don’t lie!”  
“I would _never_! Jordan, all this time, I… I was so happy when you were picked alongside me! You’re the one I wanted to be with for this more than anyone else! Finally, we could regain our bonds from the past, something I missed so, so much!”  
“Xavier…” Jordan sobbed on.  
“I’m… I’m so sorry for getting ahead of myself and saying it now. I should’ve waited. I know. It’s very unkind of me. You can blame me for that. But don’t think of my feelings as any less than real!”  
  
“Lads?” An unknown voice said besides them. “Are the two of you okay? It isn’t common to be lying on the pavement at this hour. You shouldn’t be drinking at such a young age…”  
They both looked up at the passer-by. Both their faces were as red as Xavier’s hair. “Uwah… we’re fine!” Jordan said in a panic. “All clear!” Xavier got up and reached his hand out to Jordan, who tried to wipe the last of his tears away. As they both got upright again, the man inspected them. “Don’t drink at your age.”  
“We weren’t, sir.” Jordan and Xavier awkwardly locked eyes, then broke that eye contact as quickly as they both got very flustered. The passer-by went back on his way. Xavier stopped him. “Oh, sir! Raimon Jr. High is over to that way, isn’t it?” he asked as he pointed in the direction Jordan had earlier tried to steer them to. “That’s right. Follow the street for a few minutes and you’ll get to the riverbank, from there it-“  
“Oh, thank you! We can find it from there.” He bowed and turned back to Jordan, who still was unable to look him in the eye. Xavier laughed awkwardly. “Well, that was… unexpected.”  
Jordan’s bottom lip trembled, but then he burst out laughing. “I… hahaha… I don’t think you’d ever imagine it’d go like… hahaha… this, huh! Ahahah!” A few more tears streamed down his face, but this time caused by his laughter. He held his stomach as it started hurting soon enough.  
“Oh, stop the fuss!” Xavier groaned. “Now you’re the awful one!” He stepped towards Jordan to grab his shoulders and actively make him stop. Jordan took this movement as his cue to fall into a hug while he still couldn’t stop laughing. For a few long seconds, Xavier stood there motionless and confused, which he followed up by finishing the embrace and holding the laughing green-haired boy tighter to himself. It was quite comfortable, with the exception that Jordan kept shaking as he laughed. The laughter became contagious. Xavier smiled and giggled a little. “We’re kind of weird.”  
Jordan’s grin got wider as he held Xavier tighter. “Yeah, you are.”  
Xavier pinched Jordan’s ear. “ _Awful._ ” He repeated, imitating how Jordan had said that to him earlier. Jordan shrieked. “Yeah, you are! You’re terrible, Xavier!” he said as he dropped the hug and got back on his feet. Xavier switched the placement of his hand from Jordan’s ear to his hair and ruffled it. “I hope you like me for that.” This instantly got Jordan flustered again. “Well… yeah, I do! Now stop that! Let’s… let’s just go back to Raimon!” he said as he started marching again, ahead of Xavier, but stopped within a few steps and turned around. “I, uh…”  
“Which way should I carry you?” Xavier laughed heartily. “Piggy-back or as my future bride?”  
“You’re getting too carried away with this! Y-Y-Your back is just fine!”  
  
And so they were quickly on their way again, to the riverbank. Mostly in a comfortable silence, as they both spend the time reorganizing their thoughts of what in the heck happened earlier. They also joyfully listened and felt each other’s crazy heartbeats. On top of that, the night sky was quite clear. Xavier would sometimes look up and joyfully hum the names of some of the many constellations and stars out there. Jordan would squint and try to recognize the ones Xavier would gleefully name. He caught a few.  
  
Once they reached the riverbank, they were both relieved knowing they’d find their way back to Raimon before the latest hours in the night. They decided to take a little break, as Jordan didn’t want to burden Xavier’s back for too much. Xavier hadn’t minded, but did like the idea of spending a little more time together before re-entering the dorms again. They sat down on the pier. Jordan took off his shoes and dropped his feet in the water. It was freezing cold, but he didn’t mind too much. “I don’t think you should do that,” Xavier said. “You’re probably going to catch a cold.”  
“I don’t mind.”  
“I do. It’d be terrible if you’d fall ill and I’m not around to care for you.”  
“I’ll be fine, Xavier.”  
Of course, Xavier knew that Jordan would be fine; a cold couldn’t fell him, but he still worried. A different feeling brewed up within him too as they sat so close, with the moonlight lighting up the area around them. It was a frustrating feeling that he _knew_ he had to act on. Xavier leaned in, getting closer and closer to Jordan’s face. Jordan pushed him away in a panic. “Don’t do that!”  
“Oh… I’m sorry, I’ve been wanting to do it for so long, I guess I got ahead of myself.”  
“That’s… that’s not the problem! I just don’t want to know what it feels like just before you leave and then leave me longing for more!”  
This time, it was Xavier that got flustered. If there was one thing that he didn’t expect Jordan to get his thoughts straight on, especially so quick, it would be about something as simple as a kiss.  
Jordan frowned at the lack of a response. “Err, you know! I have a better idea. I won’t let you be rewarded with a kiss unless you win the FFI.”  
Xavier laughed contently. That wasn’t an easy challenge, but how could he say no? “All right. You’re on.”  
Jordan held up his hand and childishly folded it so only his pinky was left. He reached it to the middle position between them. Xavier smiled and did the same and followed the pinky promise ritual with him. It was as if they relived their childhood promises, but this time in a way so different, it could only be described as magical. They shuffled a little closer after that. Jordan leaned his head on Xavier’s shoulder. “I suppose we should go back soon if you don’t want to oversleep for the plane tomorrow.”  
“I wouldn’t mind staying up all night and then sleeping on the plane if it means spending this time with you. You’re still not planning on coming along, or are you now?”  
“No. The only person I’d need to see off is you and I much prefer doing that this way.”  
“How do you feel about not participating, now?”  
“I… I think it’s okay. I gave it my all. I helped the team through. I’ll always be proud to have been a part of Inazuma National. And I’m proud of you for still carrying that torch on for me.”  
“You’ll watch the matches, won’t you? You said before that it’d tire you out, but…”  
“I’ll make sure to watch it. I’ll also scold you for all possible stupid mistakes you make afterwards.”  
Xavier laughed. “If I make zero mistakes, then what will you have to say?”  
“… ‘Good job’.”  
Xavier pouted disappointingly. “That’s all?”  
“Yeah.” Jordan grinned, closing his eyes.  
Xavier wrapped his arm around Jordan. “Any proverbs on your mind?”  
Jordan nodded lightly. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”  
“Oh, that’s lovely.”  
They spent a little more time in the embrace, until they heard bells ring in the distance, signaling another hour has passed. Jordan shot up, nearly toppling himself over down in the water. Xavier kept him back on the pier. “Careful!”  
“We should really head back.” Jordan said, kicking the water off his feet and putting his shoes back on.  
He got up again and hopped lightly, to check his legs. He then reached his arm out to Xavier to help him get up too. Xavier hesitantly accepted and gracefully got up. “You’re okay?”  
“Yeah, I feel great actually. Let’s go.” Jordan said as he started walking. Xavier was left lightly disappointed but followed him.  
  
The road to Raimon Jr. High thankfully wasn’t long from here. Xavier was kind of willing to hold Jordan’s hand, or at least his arm. Jordan, however, had his own hands stuffed into his pockets and proudly marched on. It was kind of mean. But Xavier had one final trick up his sleeve to spend a little more time together now they still could. “Jordan,” he said, walking closer. “Won’t you spend the night in my dorm room?”  
Jordan had once again responded flustered and made several attempts to refuse, but eventually gave in.  
  
They entered the school grounds and were greeted by the over-enthusiastic Mark Evans who clearly failed to sleep in his excitement to get his football to the world stage.  
“Hey! What have the two of you been up to?”  
“Training,” Xavier answered. “Jordan helped me out a lot to get some last-minute training in.”  
“I did?” Jordan asked. Xavier flexed his arms proudly while winking. “That was some really good stamina training, you know!”  
Mark gawked in excitement. “Still training! You’re amazing, Xavier. I think I’m going to train a little more too!” he yelled as he ran off.  
Jordan and Xavier watched him in bewilderment. Jordan laughed. “You’re really speaking his language, huh?”  
“It’s not that hard. Only enthusiastic mumbling about football and you’ll get right through to him.”  
“I guess you’re right.”  
“Besides, you really did help me with a fair share of training by letting me carry you around. You’re a great help, Jordan. Thanks.”  
“Y-You’re welcome?”  
  
They entered the dorm building. Jordan attempted to head to his own room that he’d have to abandon soon enough. Not that it really mattered much; all the other rooms would soon be abandoned as well. The replacement members took their satisfaction to sharing rooms with their best friends instead of moving into Jordan and Shawn’s rooms, so Jordan had still been allowed to keep his room until tomorrow, after which he’d have to leave and head back to his home. Xavier tried to stop him, but after letting Jordan insist that he’d need his nightwear, Xavier allowed Jordan to enter his own dormitory room to at least get dressed into his pajamas. He, slightly anxiously, waited outside for Jordan to come back outside again. Jordan did take his time. Now that he finally was alone after that eventful night, he launched his face into his own pillow trying not to fume too much in embarrassment. What the hell has this evening been? After a few minutes, Xavier knocked on the door. “Jordan?”  
“Y…yeah! Ready.” Jordan said as he pushed himself back to the door to face Xavier again. As soon as he opened the door, he also yawned. Xavier looked at him bewildered. “Are you that tired?” “A little.”  
  
They walked side by side to Xavier’s room. “Oh,” Jordan said after entering. “I guess we’d have to drag my mattress here, don’t we?” He turned around to leave and walk back to his own room again. Xavier stopped him with a firm “No”, as he pointed to his own bed. “It’ll be fine.”  
“Hurk…” Jordan gulped. “That’s what you meant with sleeping over? Sharing your bed?”  
“You don’t want to?” Xavier asked in a very disappointed tone. Jordan felt a feeling of guilt creeping over him. He’s been refusing a lot of things, hasn’t he? His face turning red again, he walked over to the bed and sat down. “F-fine. Just for tonight.”  
Xavier’s slightly upset face quickly turned into a large smile again, but his mouth couldn’t fully express his happiness, so he just happily stared at Jordan for a bit. Jordan in turn got only more embarrassed looking at the puppy-eyed enthusiastic Xavier. Shortly after, Xavier got changed too into his nightwear and sat himself down besides Jordan. “You know, I can’t really describe how happy I am right now.”  
“Mhm,” Jordan nodded nervously. “I’m glad, too… the road to today has been way too dark, but I’m glad it's shining so bright now.”  
“Right!” Xavier said gleefully as he grabbed Jordan’s hands and let himself fall on his back, pulling Jordan along. “You’re wonderful, Jordan. I’m truly glad you didn’t turn my feelings down.”  
Jordan didn’t know how to respond. “Uh… you’re welcome!” he said awkwardly. This made Xavier laugh.  
“Oh, I love you so much.”  
Even after the entire evening, Jordan hadn’t really been prepared to hear that sentence outright. “S-same to you?” he said, his face red once again. Xavier smiled, pulled the blanket over them and wrapped his arms around Jordan. The boy stiffened up once again. “Come on, for me?” Xavier begged as he tried to pull Jordan closer. Jordan struggled and buried his embarrassed face in the pillow. “Fwime,” he whined while snuggling closer, Xavier’s arms wrapped around him more comfortably than before. Both their hearts pounded like crazy. Jordan had slight difficulties breathing with the pillow in his face, but there was no way he’s going to be able to release himself from this position. Xavier accepted this, although he did slightly worry if Jordan wasn’t going to stop breathing all together. As he smiled, he playfully ran his fingers through Jordan’s hair and untied his ponytail. He flung the hair tie on his bedside table. Jordan made a few more muffled noises in the pillow.  
Xavier closed his eyes. “Good night.”  
“Mhmf.”  
  
Morning came and the entire dormitory was rowdy, some still packing their luggage. Others would nearly cause a scene in the cafeteria with how much they ate. Lastly, there was the group of well-prepared people who were rather disappointed with how inconvenient others would treat this morning.  
Jordan was still fast asleep through all of this. Xavier decided to get up as quietly as possible to not wake him and just as quietly leave the dorm room with his own luggage.  
  
The dorm eventually was nearly abandoned, with a few caretakers like Mr. Veteran left who could start cleaning up the mess left in the cafeteria.  
  
Jordan woke up, rubbed his eyes and accepted the bedhead fate Xavier had brought upon him by removing his hair tie. Right. He looked around the near-empty room that housed a few items owned by Xavier, like the large telescope. This was Xavier’s room. He slept in Xavier’s bed. Together with…  
He looked besides him. Empty. So he must’ve already left. What a terrible person, making him feel all those things right before he goes off to play in the world cup. He shook his head. Maybe Xavier was afraid of losing him during that time? It would only be a few weeks, wouldn’t it? Ugh…  
He reached out to the bedside table where his hair tie was left and tried to tie his hair again. It was challenging, but he managed. Suddenly he noticed another item on the table. A note, addressed to him. How cliché. He opened it, groaning.  
  
_I’ll make sure to call you once we land! That’d be around 9 PM your time.  
Every day, I’ll call you! Between 9 and midnight. If I fail to, I won’t call any later than that because I want you to sleep well, Jordan.  
  
Stay strong,  
Xavier Foster  
  
_“Dumbass.” Jordan said as he threw the note on the floor and buried his face in the pillow. Xavier’s scent was still in there. It was nice.


	2. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After winning the world cup, Xavier returns from Liocott. Isabelle is determined to help Jordan and Xavier have a touching reunion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry sorry, I've been really busy!

It was the ungodly hour of 3 AM. For the first time in a while, Xavier had broken his own-made rule that he’d only call between 9 PM and midnight. Jordan, tired, reached for the phone that was buzzing in his pocket. Bryce shot him a glare. “Who even calls at this hour?”   
“Xavier, wouldn’t he?” Claude said, appearing quite hung-over for someone not even at a legal drinking age. Flat on the couch, he swayed his feet in front of Bryce’s face who sighed as he pushed them away, quietly threatening to break Claude’s legs if he were to continue. “Xavier’s been calling him a lot.”   
Jordan twitched as he eyed Claude. Had they noticed Xavier would call nearly every night? He flicked his phone open and saw Xavier’s name on the flashing screen, with the clock in the screen’s corner showing 3:05 AM. With Isabelle’s legs on his lap, Jordan felt like he had no way to escape the room to make the call, but realized the others would have something to say to Xavier too. He hit the green button and held the phone to his ear.   
“Congratulations!” Jordan said, as excitingly as he could at this hour. “On becoming world champion! That’s ama….aa…zing..” his final word was interrupted by his own yawning.   
“Thank you!” Xavier beamed through the phone. “We did it! I’m… thrilled, really! It feels so unreal. Coach Travis even said we did well. That was a shocker.”   
Jordan gasped. “He said _what_? That’s unexpected.”  
“He did. After berating us for our terrible play, actually. Anyway, I’m really sorry for calling so late, but I just had to talk to you!”   
“It’s okay,” Jordan responded with a smile, “we’ve all been staying up to watch the match anyway. Although it’s kind of stupid that this match had to be broadcast starting midnight here, when Japan was even playing.”  
“Yeah, they probably didn’t think that through. Well, I’ll let you go sleep now, then!”  
Claude coughed audibly. “HEY, XAVIER.” He hollered at the phone. “CONGRATULATIONS, YOU STUPID.”  
Jordan, Bryce and Isabelle nearly jumped in surprise because of the the loud yelling. Jordan lowered his phone and searched for the speaker function and turned it on. Bryce laughed gently. “Congratulations, Xavier.”  
Isabelle sat upright to reach closer to the phone. “That match was brilliant,” she gleefully spoke to the little communication device.   
“Oh! Claude, Bryce and Isabelle, you’re all there? Thank you!”  
As unplanned as it was, the three of them suddenly banded together to voice something that they’ve been wondering about, step by step. Bryce commented first. “Jordan was really ecstatic to see you on the screen, by the way.” Isabelle joined in: “You’re definitely his favorite on the entire Inazuma National team~”   
Claude didn’t like this roundabout talk and decided to be more straightforward than the other two. “He’s eager to see his boyfriend return home.”   
Jordan gasped, face lightly flushed. “W-w-what?”   
Xavier laughed through the phone. “That makes me happy to hear. I have to leave now for the press conference. Sleep well, everyone!” And he quickly ended the call. Jordan’s face had turned only more red as a result of Xavier’s response. Isabelle, Bryce and Claude all stared at the flustered boy. “Ah, so it is true?” Bryce inquired. Isabelle clapped her hands. “That’s adorable! I had a hunch, but you’ve never really admitted to that all this time! Glad he cleared that up.”  
Claude gave the other two a glare. “Give me some credit here for saying so, thanks.”  
Jordan tried to get out of this questioning by attempting to slip off the couch, but Isabelle held her strong legs down. “Tell us, dear~”   
“No… I-I’m going to bed, good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.” Jordan stammered as he pushed her legs away. Claude and Bryce smirked watching the scene, but Isabelle gave in making a mental note to bother him the next day about it.   
  
Jordan refused to talk about his relationship with Xavier. Claude and Isabelle sometimes tried to sneak in and listen in to whenever Xavier would call him the next few days, but Jordan would just stammer and not say anything too sweetly that the other Sun Garden residents could drag him with. Until Dave ran in the fourth day. “Jordan! I’ve heard you’ve been keeping secrets!”  
“Huh?”  
“About Xavier! So that’s how you got picked for Inazuma National, huh? Being all buddy-buddy with him behind everyone’s backs!”  
Dave was clearly still upset about not being picked for Inazuma National. But this reasoning was even worse. Firstly because Xavier hadn’t made his feelings clear to him until the literal last day before the team would leave for Liocott – and Jordan was already off the team by then. Secondly, because this would imply he wasn’t picked for his own skills, which was kind of dreadful to hear from a proud man like Dave. It was kind of depressing to be accused like this. Jordan glared back. “That’s not the right information at all.” He said, trying not to cause a fight but still making it clear that Dave’s statement wasn’t fair to hear at all. He walked away, refusing to listen to whatever other slander Dave would have to throw at him. Well, there go all the good times they spent together training hard to rejoin and join Inazuma National while they were making their way through the Football Frontier International’s group matches.   
  
An important day arrived shortly after: the Inazuma National’s team return to Japan. They had spent a few more days around Liocott Island to clear up some unspecified businesses. Now they would return and get the heroic welcome as they deserve. The team is seen as national heroes and Tokyo’s airport was full of avid supporters hoping to see their favorite Japanese team. Jordan went to see them too. He was tailed by Isabelle. Except she wasn’t tailing him. She rather dragged him along with her, eager to force their way through so Jordan could have his touching reunion with Xavier. This enthusiasm was paired with a lot of embarrassing outcries like: “out of my way, Inazuma National ex-member coming through!” or worse: “Inazuma National member’s boyyyyyfriend coming through, let us through!”   
It was awful. Jordan desperately wanted her to shut up and not cause so much of a scene, but sadly for him Isabelle was the kind of girl that when she had her mind set to something, there really was no stopping her. Thankfully, even though people snickered and let them past, they didn’t take Isabelle’s latter outcries all too seriously.   
  
A few more minutes until the plane would land. “So, so, what did you buy him?” Isabelle inquired, still dragging Jordan along by his wrist. “What do you mean?” he asked, confused.   
“You did get him a welcome back gift, didn’t you?”  
“Am I supposed to?”  
“Goodness, Jordan! How can you be this clueless! Then we’ll have to hurry to the gift shop to get some flowers first.”  
Jordan checked his watch. “But the plane’s about to land. I don’t think he…”  
“Jordan, he probably brought you souvenirs, too. You absolutely should give him something in return. And there’s only one thing you can buy for this kind of reunions: flowers!”  
“F..flowers?!”   
“Jordan… how did you even make it until today with zero romantic instinct?”  
“Hey!” Jordan got kind of tired of this banter – and was getting flowers really the most important thing? If gifts were so important, he could just buy something of Xavier’s pick later. Or treat him to dinner or so. What’s the most important thing, is that the plane is about to arrive!  
Jordan ran towards the window, gawking at the scene of the Inazuma National private plane landing. In reality, that iron bird was really impressive! He almost felt disappointed with himself for not watching it lift off a month earlier, but he had his reasons. “There it is!” he cried along the many cheers of the avid supporters on the in and outside of the building. Isabelle shook her head and grabbed Jordan’s arm again. “Gift shop.” Jordan tried to hold his ground but was soon after nearly toppled over by Isabelle’s strong arms and he was dragged along again. “Let me waaaatch,” he cried like a toddler unwilling to go to bed.  
  
Barely two minutes later (which was kind of miraculous as the airport seemed busier than ever) they found themselves in front of the gift and flower shops. “Flowers like roses are probably the best, but I guess you’re too shy for that, somehow?”   
The question part got a little on Jordan’s nerves, although he had to agree so he nodded lightly. Isabelle continued to think aloud. “Then maybe some chocolates… or a plushie toy…”  
“I’m not really sure he’s into that…”   
“Right… this is Xavier we’re talking about.”   
They both quietly stared at the gift shop for a bit, then sighed.   
“I don’t think we’re going to find something nice at such a short notice.” Jordan admitted. “I’ll.. I’ll treat him to something nice later..?”   
“Oh!” Isabelle yelped. “There’s a lot of Inazuma National merch in that corner? We’ll just go with that.” She ran into the shop, giving Jordan no choice but to tag along once again. There really was a lot of merch: cups, flags, wristwatches, keychains and all the more. They both stared at the wide array of merchandise for a few seconds and then they simultaneously pointed at the wristwatch. “That should do?!”   
Isabelle grabbed the item, pushed it in Jordan’s hands and shoved him towards the cash desk. He was lucky to have some money on hand that was just about enough to get him the watch. He’d have to deal with going back to Sun Garden on an empty stomach as a result, but so be it. The purchase went surprisingly fast for how crowded it was in the area: within the next minute they managed to get out of the shop, with the gift even properly wrapped too.   
They hurried on towards the arrivals hall. It was crowded, but this time even Isabelle seemed a little nervous about seeing one of her favorite people again, so she didn’t yell as much this time and accepted the nation’s desire to see the heroic footballers.   
  
There was a lot of cheering, begging for autographs and the like going on. It seems like several members got showered with gifts by fangirls in particular, making Jordan all the more embarrassed about his forced gift. What if Xavier happened to have fans that would give him the same kind of merchandise? Of course, Xavier was wonderful – he deserved to have fans, especially after being despised so much by so many during the Alius days. Still, Jordan felt kind of jealous at the thought of other people thinking of Xavier as boyfriend material. So this is what love felt like, huh? How frustrating.   
Jordan jumped a few times but couldn’t really make out the figures of the Inazuma National members. There was a distinct lack of poofy red hair as well. Was Xavier just following behind? Or was he that well surrounded by fans? He wanted to call out to see if Xavier was in reach, but the crowd was overwhelmingly loud. Isabelle decided to stand in front of Jordan and bent her knees lightly. “Go on.”  
Jordan picked his lips; piggy-back rides weren’t quite his favorite thing. But it would be convenient. “Okay, here we go.” He said as he hopped on. Isabelle went back upright and tried to hold Jordan as high as she could. “Can you see him?”   
“No…” Jordan responded, sounding somewhat upset. Isabelle put him back to his feet and held his shoulders. “It’s okay. It’s okay. We’ll just be patient then, it’ll calm down here soon enough.”  
She took him by the arm once more and walked towards the window and sat down there. Jordan leaned against the wall and watched as the crowd kept going nearly insane. It was frustrating. He wanted to jump back in and greet Xavier, but it seemed pretty impossible for now.   
Eventually he slid down and sat beside Isabelle, who carefully watched the scene in front of them too. “It’s quieting down already. Give them ten more minutes.”  
“Ten?” Jordan sulked. “Time is longer than a rope, I suppose.”  
Isabelle snickered, having no idea what this proverb was about, but it seemed to her that Jordan was at least agreeing to wait for a little longer, which was a good outcome.   
They waited and waited, both growing a little more nervous the more minutes passed. It was as Isabelle has said though; the crowd gradually thinned, as more and more people managed to greet their heroes and make a run for it after having their pictures taken. Jordan folded his arms around his knees, curled up lightly, watching the sidelines. He didn’t notice a person walking up to them.  
“There you are!” a familiar voice said. “I was worried you didn’t come.”  
“Ack!” Jordan jumped, dropping the gift as he freed his legs from his own grip. “Xavier!” Jordan clumsily jumped up and ran into Xavier’s open arms, embracing him tightly. “Welcome back!”  
“Oh!” Xavier smiled. The hug was a little tighter than he expected it to be; especially with how not quite so forward Jordan had been the last time they saw each other in person. Granted, that was the evening Xavier had confessed; Jordan had probably spent a lot of times getting his own feelings in place that night. It was nice to feel an embrace like this, though. Xavier pet Jordan’s head. “I’m glad to be back. Hello, Isabelle.” He waved with his other free hand. She smiled back at him. “Congratulations again! Are you coming home today or do you have some more responsibilities?”   
“We’ll be headed to Raimon in a few for a probable surprise party. I suppose the two of you could tag along?”   
“I’ll be fine,” Isabelle responded. “But I’ll leave Jordan in your care for today. Call when you’ll come back home, we’ll prepare a feast!”   
“You don’t have to. Seeing everyone again is a celebration enough.” Xavier gently pet Jordan, who still was holding him, although not as tightly anymore. Wait… did Jordan fall asleep on his shoulder? The green-haired boy’s grip was loosening more and more, until his arms fell back beside him. The shock of this movement woke him up again. “Mwuh?” he mumbled and stumbled back as he realized what just happened. “Wah! Sorry…”  
“Glad to know my shoulder is comfortable enough for that.”   
Isabelle snickered from behind them. “He’s been sleeping terribly in anticipation for your return.” She bowed down to pick the gift up that Jordan had dropped earlier. “Jordan, you’re forgetting something.” She exclaimed as she pushed the gift back in the boy’s hands. “Oh! Right. This is f-for you!” Jordan stammered as he passed the gift on to Xavier’s hands. “I know it’s stupid… I’ll treat you to something better sometime.”  
“A gift? You didn’t have to.” Xavier smiled. “I’d rather just shower you in all the souvenirs I got.” He dotingly said as he opened the package. “An Inazuma National wristwatch? Its design is lovely. Thank you, Jordan.”   
“You’re welcome…”  
Jordan turned around to admit that it was Isabelle who forced him to get the gift, but she seemed to have already disappeared. “She’s gone?”  
Xavier laughed. “Yeah, she just left. So now it’s just the two of us.”  
“And the remains of the crowd… you should greet the last few. I’ll be waiting here.” Jordan said, sliding his back against the wall again to sit down. Xavier squatted in front of him. “I suppose you’re right. I’ll be back soon enough, okay?” he smiled as he reached his hand to push Jordan’s bangs away from his face and quickly pecked a kiss on his forehead. Jordan flailed in embarrassment (what if anyone saw this?!) and then hid his face. The moment he took his hands away from his face, Xavier was gone again. This man was like some weird kind of mirage.   
  
It took several more minutes; several other Inazuma National passed by and greeted Jordan, inviting him to come join them to Raimon after this welcoming session was over. And so, a while after, he entered the Inazuma Bus along with the official Inazuma National members on their way to Raimon Jr. High. Of course, he made sure to snag the seat beside Xavier. They talked a little about just about anything surrounding Liocott and the matches Inazuma National played in. After mentioning the finals, Xavier looked at Jordan hopefully. “So, about our promise… If we’d win the FFI, you’d allow me to…”  
Jordan laughed. “I’d agree to it even if you didn’t… but not right now! Patience is a virtue, Xavier. Besides… you did… earlier…”  
“I suppose that was some cheating, but it felt great.”  
“Y... yeah. It did.” Jordan smiled, flustered.   
  
“Yuk yuk yuk!” Scotty laughed. “We’re here!” The school building was well decorated to celebrate. The dormitory and main pitch had a lot of Inazuma National themed garlands hanging, and several flags and banners were hung up as well. There was a lot of food (by the managers’ requests, it consisted mostly of rice balls, but the team gladly took those). The Inazuma National members heartily took in the view and happily went along with the cheers and festivities brought with the many visitors. For several of the players their entire football club showed up, like Alpine’s and Fauxshore. Several Neo National members also visited to thank the Inazuma National for fulfilling their promises of living up to their dreams. Some Academies had decided to host a more personal welcoming back party for their players at their own school at a later date; for Royal Academy, the team had offered for Jude Sharp to visit them too.   
Besides Dave Quagmire, representing Neo National, none of the Sun Garden residents had come for a visit. It was mostly fair – their involvement with Alius Academy must’ve taken some toll on them to avoid a public image. And for Claude and Bryce, who spent some time in the Korean team (but returned to Japan after Korea was taken out of the tournament) – it only made sense they wouldn’t be there to cheer for the Japanese national team. Dave was quite celebratory in public, but would sometimes deliver a slight off-handed comment related to his accusations of Jordan’s spot in the national team that he had made before. Jordan was given little space to defend himself as he’d stay close to Xavier, only reinforcing Dave’s accusations. Jordan tried to not worry too much about it, as he knew that eventually, he’d get the message through to Dave by having a talk with him and Xavier sometime after the party.   
  
The party went on until the late hours. The Veteran caretakers had done a well job keeping the dorm rooms spot-free and so most of the Inazuma National members would stay over in the dorms overnight before returning to their respective homes. Xavier didn’t even need to ask as Jordan could easily guess he’d invite him over to his room again. Not that there was much more choice – Jordan had cleared his past room out perfectly and taken all his stuff back home just about a month ago anyway.   
  
And so, late night, they were in Xavier’s dorm room once again. Xavier’s jetlag made him not all too tired, but Jordan was completely exhausted. He dropped himself on the bed, mumbling about how he wasn’t expecting to stay over and didn’t bring nightwear. Xavier was a problem solver for this kind of stuff. “I’ve got extra.”   
With a lot of tired mumbling, Jordan ended up in one of Xavier’s spare sets of pajamas. Xavier tried hard not to gush out loud how cute it was. He still ended up showering Jordan with compliments anyway, most of it that wouldn’t come through his tired head.   
“Mnnuh…” Jordan mumbled as he planted his head on Xavier’s pillow. Xavier tucked himself in next to his dearest. “Can I?” he asked as he reached his arms out to pull Jordan closer. Jordan made a few muffled sounds in agreement. Xavier pulled Jordan closer. Unlike a month ago, the other boy didn’t bury his face in the pillow, but rather snuggled up to Xavier’s shoulders. It was the most perfect way to get back to sleep after that hectic football-filled month.   
  



End file.
